The present invention relates to a power plug locking device that prevents unauthorized removal of a power plug from an object such as a vehicle.
Hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles are driven by motors, which are powered by batteries. A power plug is used to charge such a battery (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-161898).
The charging of a battery for a motor-driven vehicle takes a long time compared to when refueling a vehicle with liquid fuel such as gasoline. Hence, it is desirable for a power plug locking device to prevent unauthorized removal of the power plug from a vehicle.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-08917 describes a power plug locking device that locks and unlocks a power plug in cooperation with the locking and unlocking of a vehicle door. In this power plug locking device, the power plug locking device performs locking and unlocking operations even when the power plug is not connected to the vehicle. Such operations are unnecessary and may shorten the duration of the power plug locking device.